


a summer full of flowers

by MidnightBlueMoon



Category: Riverdale (TV 2017)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Feelings, M/M, Summer Romance, The Author Regrets Nothing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-18
Updated: 2019-01-18
Packaged: 2019-10-12 04:51:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,715
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17460956
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MidnightBlueMoon/pseuds/MidnightBlueMoon
Summary: Summer is almost over, and Archie is in love. But there are too many unsaid words and the threat of going to prison makes everything infinitely harder.Aka, I will gladly take every opportunity to write emotional pain.





	a summer full of flowers

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Lady_of_the_Spirit](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lady_of_the_Spirit/gifts).



> I have been trying to finish this for quite some time and your comment on my other Sweet Pea/Archie fic gave me the motivation to do so, so thank you!

If someone would have told Archie a year ago he would end up dating a Southside Serpent, he would have been confused. If someone would have told him six months ago, he would have told them to fuck off. But now it’s the middle of summer and he’s been accused of murder. Things have changed quickly.

They haven’t been dating for long – but there is something there, a feeling that runs deep. Archie pretends it’s desperation. He pretends it’s only because they both know he’ll most likely go to prison, even if everyone around them still clings to hope. He _knows_ it’s not desperation, but anything else will make this complicated.

Maybe that’s why they are at Cheryl’s party – to pretend they are normal. It’s a stupid idea because when things were normal, _this_ would have been unthinkable.

Archie throws the football to Reggie. The boy throws it back at him, and for a second Archie has flashbacks to Riot Night. He remembers the terror he felt, he remembers seeing that same terror in Reggie. It had cut through all the years of merciless teasing and rivalry, barring them to the core. Reggie isn’t a bad person – he’s actually a really decent guy. He has his issues, but compared to some others, it’s a short list.

“Reg, if I do go away, you gotta step up and lead the Bulldogs.”

Reggie just shrugs. “I'm already captain, bro.”

Archie resists to urge to roll his eyes at the other boy, but it’s good-naturedly. “I'm not talking about on the field.” His voice goes a little softer at that, a little more earnest. He can see Reggie’s eyes go a little darker too, the fun draining out of their conversation.

“I need you to work with Jughead, to keep the peace between the Serpents and the Bulldogs.” Reggie casts a look over to Jughead, who’s talking to Josie right now. He’s up on his feet again, but seeing him in the hospital for a month really did a number on all of them. The scarring on Jughead’s shoulder is ugly, a mess of ragged lines. He doesn’t hide them, though – when Archie asked him about it, Jughead looked at him and sighed. _Someone tried to kill me, Arch, and I survived. I don’t need to hide that_. Archie never looked at it like that before, but it makes sense to him. Jughead survived a gang coming for him. There is nothing he can’t survive. That thought is what gets him out of bed in the morning – if Jughead can survive that, he can survive another day at court.

He redirects his attention to Reggie. “No more circles, red, dark or otherwise.”

Reggie nods at him. “Done.”

Archie smiles at him, thankful for the friendship they have built by now. And thankful that Reggie doesn’t say something along the lines of _you’re not going to prison_. He throws the football back at Reggie. The other boy grins back at him before pointing at the tattoo that curls across Archie’s biceps.

“Sick tat', by the way.” Archie smiles a little at that. It wasn’t his idea to get it – but his friends told him it might be best if he ever went to prison. He hasn’t officially joined the Serpents, but at this point, he thinks it might just be a matter of time. He can’t go around kissing a Serpent and still pretend he hates them, after all.

He catches the football again when he sees Sweet Pea linger in the background, his eyes fixed on Archie. His eyes are dark, his facial expression unreadable. Archie isn’t sure what it is, but he’d put his money on Sweet Pea thinking about the future. Throwing the ball back at Reggie, he excuses himself.

He makes a beeline to Sweet Pea, his eyes scanning over the boy to find out if something else is wrong. Sweet Pea doesn’t seem tense, but his arms are protectively crossed in front of his chest. Archie stops in front of him, looking up at the other boy. “Hey. Are you alright?”

Without thinking, he rests a hand on Sweet Pea’s arm. The other boy’s gaze flickers between his hand and his eyes. Archie knows Sweet Pea isn’t huge on public displays of affection – but he also knows his boyfriend is way softer than he likes to pretend.

Sweet Pea draws in a soft breath. “No. Can we- would you like to get out of here?”

He seems unsure as if there is something he wants to say, but can’t. Archie gets the feeling. So he nods and smiles. “Sure. Let’s go.” The relief passing over Sweet Pea’s face almost hurts.

They sneak out – not on purpose, rather because they don’t wait to explain why they are leaving already. Archie texts Cheryl to thank her for the invitation. She texts back immediately, telling him to _use protection, Archibald_. Archie can’t stop the choked sound falling from his mouth. It alerts Sweet Pea, who looks at him questioningly. His raised eyebrows ask a question Archie doesn’t want to answer, so he just shakes his head. He can feel the heat in his cheeks, his face surely as red as his hair. “It’s just Cheryl being Cheryl.”

Sweet Pea huffs, a laugh hidden in a sound so small, and accepts the explanation.

They stop at Sweet Pea’s motorcycle. Archie settles behind his boyfriend, sliding his hands around his waist. “Where are we going?” He can hear the smile in Sweet Pea’s voice when he answers. “You’ll see.”

Archie smiles, trusting him implicitly. They start driving, and Archie once again realizes how easy it is to just be around his boyfriend. He doesn’t have to think about what to say or do - he can just rest his head against Sweet Pea’s back and relax.

Sweet Pea is taking him to the lake nearby, Archie realizes halfway through the ride. Knowing where they are going helps him settle down completely, focusing solely on the heat Sweet Pea’s body is projecting.

They have gone to the lake quite often. Mostly because nobody is ever there - and because the place doesn’t have any bad memories attached to it. And it’s sad, but the list of places in Riverdale that doesn’t have bad memories attached to it is getting shorter every day. But here, at the lake, every memory is good.

Archie remembers his childhood, the fun days spend in the water until his skin was soft and crinkled, laughing with Jughead and Betty. And now, he also remembers Sweet Pea kissing him like he’s drowning.

They never talk about it - because Archie doesn’t dare say what’s on his tongue, and he thinks Sweet Pea doesn’t either. So they just spend days here, talking about a future they won’t have, sharing memories of their childhood. And when their kisses at the end of the day taste like tears and heartbreak, they pretend they don’t notice. For now, it’s working. But the trial is coming to an end, and Archie knows he’ll go to prison. And so does Sweet Pea.

And maybe that’s why when they arrive at the lake today, Sweet Pea turns off the engine, and something strange is left in the air between them.

Since he doesn't know how to address that strangeness, Archie gets up, pulls off the helmet. He doesn’t wait for Sweet Pea, instead, he's pulling his shoes off and walking into the water. It’s refreshing, the coolness swirling around his feet and shins. He can’t help but smile a little at the feeling. When he turns around to Sweet Pea, he catches the dark-haired boy watching him. Sweet Pea is leaning against his motorcycle, his arms crossed in front of his chest. But unlike before, now he looks… contempt. Archie smiles at him, and he can see Sweet Pea’s lips curl upward, a soft smile spreading across his face.

Archie walks out of the water, crossing the distance between his boyfriend and him. When he comes to stand in front of Sweet Pea, he can see soft amusement in his eyes. Sweet Pea doesn’t say it, but the redheaded boy knows that Sweet Pea likes seeing him happy. It says everything about Sweet Pea’s intentions.

Archie reaches up and places his hands on Sweet Pea’s neck. The other boy raises his eyebrow questioningly, but he goes willingly when Archie pulls him down to kiss him. He can feel Sweet Pea’s hands slide over his hips, holding onto him. The kiss is innocent, sweet. A reflection of their visit here - which might be why it turns a little desperate soon.

Sweet Pea kisses like it’s the last kiss they’ll ever have. He kisses Archie as if he needs him to know everything about himself. As if he needs to breathe and Archie is the only air left. He tugs Archie against him until there is no space between them, and if they were to melt together, it wouldn’t surprise Archie. He clings to Sweet Pea like a lifeline, his mouth the only thing saving him from drowning.

He can feel the desperation roll off Sweet Pea in waves. The pain of the inevitable is raw and angry, and Archie doesn’t realize he’s crying until Sweet Pea is pulling back and frames his face with his hands.

Archie averts his eyes, but Sweet Pea softly angles his head up, forcing the redhead to look at him. And Archie can still feel the tears roll down his cheeks, but the sight of Sweet Pea’s shining eyes, filled with words he doesn’t speak and with tears he doesn’t shed, makes his heart ache even more.

Archie surges forward, kissing Sweet Pea again. “I’m so sorry”, he whispers. It comes out cracked, like shards of glass between them. Sweet Pea shakes his head, brushing the tears on his cheeks away with his thumbs. “It’s not your fault”, he whispers back.

Archie isn’t sure he agrees, but he would rather kiss Sweet Pea than discuss it, so he does the former. Their kiss tastes like tears and pain and heartbreak, and Archie wishes desperately they had met under different circumstances. But they haven’t, and now Archie is going to prison. He slides his head up into Sweet Pea’s hair, caring very little about whether he ruins Sweet Pea’s work.

Sweet Pea doesn’t protest, just kisses him back. This kiss is softer, less desperate. Archie always feels surprised when Sweet Pea kisses him like that. He thought Sweet Pea would be aggressive, dominating. The truth is, the boy is more than content with kissing Archie slow and soft for hours, which is great - because Archie is absolutely down to kiss Sweet Pea for hours.

Archie wishes he could pluck this moment from time, and compress it like a flower in a book. He wants to remember this moment more than anything else - because here it feels like they might survive Archie going to prison. Archie knows how unlikely that is, but here, at the lake, with Sweet Pea kissing him, he hopes they could be the exception. He hopes their relationship can survive it.

He doesn’t tell Sweet Pea that. But when Sweet Pea breaks their kiss to lean their foreheads together, Archie doesn’t stop the words he’s been swallowing from tumbling out of his mouth.

“I love you.”

His voice is quiet, and to his own surprise, it doesn’t shake. It doesn’t sound unsure - instead, his voice is strong and solemn, presenting Sweet Pea with this like it’s an obvious fact. And maybe it is - Archie knows he had the words written all over himself for a while now, but now they are spoken and he can’t take them back.

Archie opens his eyes and meets Sweet Pea’s gaze. And he isn’t sure what he expected to find - but the look in his boyfriend’s eyes is overwhelming. Sweet Pea looks at him like he’s just grabbed the moon out of the sky and presented it to him. Like he’s moved the earth and the sky, just to bring Sweet Pea flowers. Sweet Pea opens his mouth to say something, but nothing comes out. Archie brushes a hand gently over Sweet Pea’s cheek, and when the boy closes his eyes again and rests his forehead against the smaller boy’s, it’s okay.

Archie isn’t sure about Sweet Pea’s childhood, but he knows it wasn’t fun. So maybe, maybe he gets why these words mean way more to Sweet Pea than he originally realized. He kind of wishes he had said it earlier. He kind of wants to say it again, just to see the look on Sweet Pea’s face again. He takes his hands out of Sweet Pea’s hair. Sliding over his neck and chest, he settles them on the taller boy’s waist. Sweet Pea still has his hands on his neck, his thumbs resting against his jawline. Archie smiles, even though he knows his boyfriend can’t see it. “I love you, Sweet Pea.”

The dark-haired boy slowly opens his eyes, and Archie can see the insecurity in them. It makes his heart thump painfully in his chest. His eyes seem to plead, to tell him he truly means it. So he does.

“I don’t need you to say it back, Pea. I need you to know it.” He doesn’t say because _I might be gone soon_ , but these days it’s always implied.

Sweet Pea’s eyes are scanning his face, looking either for proof of his sincerity or his insincerity. And Archie doesn’t blame him - he would be scared too if this wasn’t so true. He knows about his own feelings. And there is nothing he can do against them, nothing he _wants_ to do against them. So he waits patiently, lets Sweet Pea look at him because this is important. He needs Sweet Pea to understand that he isn’t messing around with him. He needs him to understand that he feels deeply for him, feels a connection he has never felt with anyone else before. He needs him to see that whatever happens, his feelings are honest and pure and real. And even if he does go to prison for a long time and they break up, he wants Sweet Pea to remember that he truly loved him. It makes Archie’s heart ache to think about the future like this, but there is no room for naivete in his situation.

Sweet Pea nods softly, his face still open and vulnerable. “I know”, he says. It would feel funny, but this moment feels so fragile Archie is afraid anything he says might break it. So they both stay silent, holding each other close. He could easily stay in this moment forever, Archie realizes. The world could end now and he wouldn’t have any things left unsaid. But the world doesn’t end here, he knows that - he just likes to pretend for a while longer.

Sweet Pea’s thought must head somewhere in the same direction because he mumbles words in the space between them that make Archie laugh.

“I won’t be your prison wife, though.” The comment creates pictures of Sweet Pea in a wedding dress in Archie’s head and he can’t help but laugh. His boyfriend is smiling as well, his face open and soft, but a little smug for catching the redhead off-guard.

Archie looks at him again and presses a kiss to the corner of his mouth. “You would look good in white, though.”

If his facial expression is anything to go by, Sweet Pea doesn’t seem to be able to decide if he wants to agree or disagree. Archie just kisses him, a smile still on his lips. The image of Sweet Pea in a white tux pops up in his mind, and Archie is a little terrified by how easy it is to think about marrying the boy in front of him. But on the other hand, he doesn’t really care if it's scary early to think about this - the future isn’t written yet, and maybe it isn’t the craziest idea he’s ever had.

Sweet Pea kisses him back, soft and teasing and happy. It’s going to be okay. And even if it isn’t, Archie will have memories of Sweet Pea kissing him like this. It has to be enough.


End file.
